I Became The Younger Sister Of A Dying Woman - Chapter 73

73. Oh, come on!

‘Why don’t you come over to my side now?’

Surely, he meant to come under my umbrella.

But why does it keep being interpreted differently?

As if he’s saying to come to him, not to Hernan…

I tried to push away these idle thoughts.

Meanwhile, the impatient Lenox urged me.

“Hurry up.”

I took a step.

After walking just three steps, I found myself under Lenox’s umbrella.

The umbrella was quite large, so there was no chance of touching his body.

Nevertheless, the pleasant scent emanating from him tickled my nose.

It was the scent of roses, reminiscent of his hair color.

I looked up at Lenox.

“I said I’d protect you. Stop doubting me, will you?”

That’s not why I looked up, though.

I just… looked up because he unexpectedly smelled nice.

“Thanks for confirming.”

A crooked smile played on Lenox’s lips.

I spoke to the servants and knights who were to be left behind.

“You all wait here. I’ll go meet His Highness Illiya with Lord Lenox.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Lenox walked half a step ahead of me, acting as a guide.

My brief doubt about why we were dismissing all the servants when we were going to enter the West Palace soon disappeared.

Because Lenox was walking not towards the entrance of the West Palace, but towards its rear.

“Where are we going now?”

Lenox replied while looking straight ahead.

“To the garden behind the West Palace.”

Garden?

As soon as I heard that word, something occurred to me.

I, always had sneezing fits whenever I came to the West Palace, even though there was no visible garden.

Indeed. There was a garden here after all.

Like a dog’s nose, my allergy had perfectly detected the presence of a garden.

…Should I like this? Or not?

“That garden is tended by Illiya, so we can’t open it to servants from other palaces.”

“Ah, I see.”

I understood why the people were dismissed.

“And come on. I won’t eat you, so get closer. I’m getting wet.”

An irritated Lenox moved a bit closer.

As a result, our shoulders brushed against each other.

“Oh my, Young Master. I’m a married woman…”

“I’m getting quite wet, you know?”

Only then did I realize that Lenox had been tilting the umbrella more towards my side.

While I wasn’t wet at all, Lenox’s right shoulder was not just damp, but dripping with rainwater.

“And there are no servants around. No one’s watching…”

“An assassin might be secretly observing.”

“There are no assassins.”

“What if there are?”

“Oh, come on! I said I’d protect you, didn’t I?”

Even as Lenox raised his voice, I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Why are you laughing…”

I cut off his words.

“Lord Lenox. You’re so kind.”

“…”

“Somehow, it felt like we were friends just now.”

“…I haven’t definitively agreed to be friends.”

Not friends, but willing to help with matters related to Illiya? And to protect me?

Isn’t he truly a kind person?

I replied with a giggle.

“Yes, yes.”

We walked quite a bit behind the West Palace.

The hem of my dress was quite wet.

In the endlessly falling rain, nothing human-like was visible.

The West Palace was already eerie, but with the rain and no people around, I couldn’t shake off the feeling of being in a horror story.

It wouldn’t be strange if not an assassin, but some evil spirit jumped out.

I wrapped my arms around myself.

My shoulders were trembling.

“How can a garden exist in a place like this…”

Is there a garden here?

Was this just a plausible story to trick me and make a fool of me?

I was about to say something to irritate Lenox.

However, I had to close my mouth upon seeing the scene that suddenly unfolded before my eyes.

It really existed.

Although the colors were muted due to the gloomy weather, there was undoubtedly a garden.

A small garden with colorful flowers planted in neat rows.

And in the center of those flowers sat a man in a long robe.

The man wasn’t even using an umbrella.

I gently elbowed Lenox.

“…Shh.”

Lenox, silencing me, held his words.

His red gaze was also directed at that man.

Could that man be… Illiya?

I clenched my fists tightly.

The person I had longed for so much was now manifested before my eyes.

I wanted to call Miller immediately to prove that Illiya was out here of his own free will.

No, it didn’t have to be Miller.

Even if I could just call a servant to be a witness…

Or perhaps use Lenox as a witness…

As I flinched, as if about to dart off somewhere, Lenox grabbed my wrist.

“If you approach, he’ll run away.”

“But…”

But if I don’t speak to him now, who knows when such an opportunity will come again?

I looked up at Lenox with desperate eyes.

I sent him a gaze far more sincere than any act I had put on to befriend him.

I even felt a lump in my throat for no reason, and my eyes stung.

The grip on my wrist loosened. Eventually, his hand fell away.

There was no word to go.

Lenox waited for me to follow, walking half a step ahead as before.

We approached the man in the robe, that is, Illiya, cutting through the now heavier rain.

Illiya didn’t notice us until we stood right in front of him.

We had muffled our footsteps, the sound of rain was quite loud, and Illiya was wearing a hood.

I lowered myself, not caring that my dress was getting soiled with mud.

“Your Highness Illiya.”

At my call, Illiya’s shoulders flinched.

“I’m Linzel, who received the note saying ‘Are you crazy? Is your life a joke?'”

His shoulders flinched again.

“Um… so, you don’t need to worry about what you said to me. I was the one who spoke harshly first.”

Illiya remained silent like a mute who had swallowed honey.

Due to the deeply drawn hood, I couldn’t see his face at all.

All I could tell was that Illiya was holding a small shovel, and his hands were covered in dirt.

‘Was he tending to the garden? Worried the flowers might be washed away by the rain?’

I finally understood what Lenox meant when he said Illiya comes out nine times out of ten when it rains.

Illiya must have come out because he was worried about his garden.

Before Illiya could run away, I spoke the words I wanted to convey to him.

“Even if it’s just once… couldn’t you come out and meet me on a sunny day?”

“Tomorrow would be fine too.”

I had so many things I wanted to say when I met Illiya.

But now that we actually met, I couldn’t gauge what to say at all.

It would be nice if Illiya would at least respond.

An uncomfortable silence fell. Only the sound of rain lingered between us.

Unexpectedly, Illiya stood up abruptly.

He tossed aside the shovel he was holding and started running towards the West Palace.

“Your, Your Highness!”

I tried to follow him.

But I tripped on the hem of my long dress and fell flat on the muddy ground.

“Damn it…”

By the time I raised my head and wiped the mud off my face, Illiya had completely disappeared.

There was no way that I, who could barely walk due to my frail health, could catch up to the sprint of a grown man like Illiya.

I cleanly gave up on chasing after him.

“Didn’t I tell you he would run away?”

Lenox was reproaching me.

The strange thing was, that even Lenox, who seemed displeased with me, didn’t chase after Illiya.

He was merely tilting the umbrella to keep me from getting rained on.

Surely… he couldn’t be staying by my side to prevent me from getting rained on, or because of potential assassins who might attack?

I tried to get up.

But my body wouldn’t budge.

As if my problematic leg had become paralyzed, it once again refused to move well.

“Damn it…”

Cursed body! Cursed Illiya!

“Um, Lord Lenox. I’m sorry, but could you help me up?”

“Haa…”

“I think I’ve sprained my leg a bit.”

“…”

“…I’m sorry. You must have met Illiya after a long time too.”

Instead of answering, Lenox firmly secured the umbrella he was holding between his shoulder and neck.

Then, with his freed hands, he lifted me up from where I had fallen.

“Oh!”

Except for Hernan, this was the first time I had been held by someone else.

“If you’re sorry, then hold the umbrella.”

I hesitantly grabbed the umbrella.

“We’re going into the West Palace.”

“Not to the carriage?”

“If Your Highness, who has a husband, doesn’t want rumors spreading about being carried by another man, stay quiet.”

“I’ll put you down once we’re in the West Palace, so wait. I’ll call for a servant.”

I just nodded slightly.

Lenox’s body, pressed against mine, felt warm.

That warmth, though not as much as Hernan’s, gave me a sense of stability.

If I thought I could hear Lenox’s heartbeat through the sound of rain. If that sound was too loud.

Was that my imagination?

***

True to his frequent visits to the West Palace, Lenox knew about its back door.

We were able to enter without encountering any of the West Palace’s servants.

“I’ll call for Your Highness’s maids.”

Lenox turned around, sighing repeatedly.

It was somehow strange that he was helping me even while being annoyed…

Had it become certain that Lenox considered me a friend?

There was no other reason for him to be this kind otherwise.

After waiting for Lenox like that for a few minutes.

A familiar, missed voice came from behind me.